Although the spring semester is still young, the time is fast approaching for students to set up their housing arrangements for next year. Some of you reading this are committed to staying on campus, but let me introduce you to the benefits of getting out of the dorms.
As you may be able to tell from the title, most of my argument focuses on money. There’s no way around it; living on campus is expensive. After factoring in rate increases, the average room is likely to cost nearly $6,000 next year and the average meal plan well over $4,000, for a grand total of more than $10,000. Conceivably, you can halve that cost by going off-campus.
Let me start with room costs. Troy is not New York City. You can find great apartments to rent in this city for about $300 a month for a multiple-person apartment, excluding utilities. Speaking of which, utilities aren’t bad either, at $75 to $100 a month. Rent at $375 a month, for 12 months, comes out to $4,500 on the year. That’s roughly $1,500 dollars that you keep, but that’s not all. Yes, you will probably have to pay for the whole year, but then you have a place to stay in the area for the summer, and you can move in and out on your own schedule.
In renting, however, there are a few things you need to watch out for. You will need to make sure that your landlord is reputable, and ensure that you understand all of the terms of a lease before you sign it. I can’t stress this part enough.
Food is even more of a steal. Once you get set up with pots, plates, and utensils, I’ve found that you can eat very well on $600 for the semester, but that number is more subject to your own cooking and eating preferences. Compare that to over $2,000 per semester for a meal plan, and you’re saving almost $3,000. Sure, you do have to buy the food, cook it, and clean up after yourself, but you get to eat the food that you want to eat and you aren’t constrained by the dining hall’s hours.
Of course, with all this newfound financial freedom comes a bit of responsibility. You have to pay the bills, and you have to pay them on time. You have to cook for yourself. But face it, you will most likely be doing these things after college anyway. If college is about challenging yourself and trying new things in and out of the classroom, this is the perfect opportunity. Learn how to cook now before you get out of school. Figure out how to pay bills and balance a checkbook. Take the difficult path for a change instead of the easy way out. We all can’t live with our parents forever. Why not build the skills now while you’re still in the learning environment?
